Steam iron



J. R. GOMERSALL STEAM IRON Dec. 10, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 24.1954 IN V EN TOR. JOZMJZ Gamermfl 1957 J. R. GOMEZRSALL ,81

. STEAM IRON Filed Feb. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Gand STEAM IRON John R. Gomersall, Elgin, Ill., assignor to McGraw-Edison Electric Company, a corporation of Delaware Application February24, 1954, Serial No. 412,340

11 Claims. 01. 38-77) This invention is concerned generally with asteamiron, and more particularly with a steam iron of the flash boilertype.

Flash boiler type steam irons as are well known in the art introducewater drop by drop from a water storage tank to a heated boiler or steamgenerating or evaporating chamber wherein the Water quickly flashes intosteam.

Various difiiculties have attended the operation of prior flash boilersteam irons which have tended to reduce their usefulness. Occasionallywater would be introduced faster than it could be evaporated so thatwater accumulated in the steam generating chamber. This difficulty wouldoccur when water was introduced before the iron had become suflicientlyhot, or when heavy, or

excessively damp material being ironed reduced the temperature of theiron. Furthermore, many prior art steam irons have been incapable ofpurging themselves of excess water by boiling it away, and still othershave been incapable of purging themselves without carrying over with thesteam, and as is well known many fabrics are susceptible to waterspotting.

In prior irons the water entering the steam generating chamber hasdropped on to a more-or-less restricted area for flashing into steam.Since most housewives will not bother to obtain and use distilled water,the tap water generally used builds up lime deposits on this steamgenerating area, and may eventually clog the iron.

The general object of this invention is to provide a new or improvedflash boiler type steam iron construction that provides eflicient,rapid, and thorough evaporation of the water, and that is reliable inoperation.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in a flash boiler typesteam iron, an improved boiler consruction which inhibits the tendencyof excess water to splash into the steam ducts.

A further object of this invention is to provide a boiler constructionin a flash boiler type steam iron wherein the heat distribution ismarkedly improved and all surfaces are kept hot for efiicient purgingand steam generation and for reducing temperature difierences betweenwater in the boiler and the heating element to reduce the danger ofexcessive temperatures adjacent the heating element and to preclude theopening of the thermostat while there is excess water in the boiler.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a boiler in a flashboiler type steam iron wherein the boiler construction reinforces thesole plate against warping and buckling.

A further object of this invention is to provide a flash boiler typesteam iron construction wherein the water is distributed over a largearea in its impingement against the floor of the steam generatingchamber to distribute the lime formation.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following description when taken in connection Withthe accompanying draw ings wherein:

2,815,592 Patented Dec. 10, 1957 Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of aniron constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the sole plate and boiler;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view illustrating the spreader plate fordistributing the Water in the steam generating chamber;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the spreader plate alone;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the iron illustratingthe placement of the spreader plate in the boiler;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a modification of the spreaderplate; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the modifiedspreader plate.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, and first to Figs. 1through 5, there will be seen a steam iron constructed in accordancewith the principles of my invention and generally identified by thenumeral 10. The iron comprises a sole plate 12 and a sheet metal case orbody 14 suitably secured thereon. The sole plate preferably is made ofaluminum or aluminum alloy, while the case or body can be made of anysuitable sheet metal such as aluminum or stainless steel. A handle 16 isprovided on the iron and is made of a heat insulating material;preferably it is molded of plastic.

A water storage tank 18 is provided within the iron case or body and afiller tube 20 extends through the handle into the water tank orreservoir for supplying Water thereto. A water valve control member 22extends through the filler tube 20 and also through the water storagetank or reservoir 18 to a valve 24 at the bottom thereof leading into aboiler, or steam generating or evaporating chamber 26. A thermostat 28is provided in the iron and is settable by means of an indicator 3!) ontop of the iron case, and a shaft 32 interconnecting the center and thethermostat.

The sole plate is provided with suitable heating means, preferably inthe form of a cast-in-place heating element 34 having electricalconnectors 36 thereon extending from the rear end of the sole plate. Theheating element is housed in ridges 38 adjacent the rear end of the soleplate. The ridges 38 continue into converging ridges 40 meeting adjacentthe front of the sole plate at 42, and connected at the rear ends by atransverse ridge 44 to define the steam generating chamber 26 except forthe top thereof. The top of the steam generating chamber takes the formof a thin aluminum plate 46 suitably mounted on the ridges 40 and 44 bymeans such as screws 48.

The ridges 40 have formed along their inner edges a series of pockets 5tdefined by generally longitudinally curved walls 52, and by transversewalls 54. The pockets are provided with upstanding intermediate walls orbaflles 56, and steam inlets are provided on the inner or steamgenerating chamber side of the baffles by means of semicircular notches58 in the walls 52. Steam vents 60 are provided in the sole plate 12from the pockets 50 on the outside of the iron-and opening at the bottomof the iron. Opposite ones of the steam vents preferably are connectedby arcuate grooves in the plate for optimum steam distribution. Thedisposition of the steam vents 60 opposite to the steam inlets 58insures drying of the steam as it passes the battles 56 and eliminationof moisture from the steam. It will be appreciated that the pockets andthe baffles are located substantially directly above the heating elementand accordingly are maintained at a high temperature at all times.

The steam generating chamber 26 is divided into four parts by a low rib62 extending along the longitudinal center line of the steam generatingchamber and upstandthe same height as the rib 62 branch out from the rib62 to the walls 52. The ribs 64 join the rib 62 substantially directlybeneath the water inlet valve 24.

A spreader plate 66 is located directly beneath the water inlet valve 24and above the junction of the ribs 62 and 64. As will be seen in Figs.3-5, this spreader plate comprises a substantially circular sheetaluminum disc having a central circular portion 68 which is somewhatconvex upwardly. Four substantially fiat ridges 70 radiate from thecentral portion 68 in alignment with the ribs 62 and 64, and areterminated in upturned tips 72. Between the substantially flat ribs 70,the spreader 66 is provided with valleys 74 running down hill as theymove outwardly from the central portion 68.

A pair of aluminum posts 76 is provided on the diagonal ridges 70extending therefrom. These posts are provided with tapped apertures 78at their upper ends, and screws (not shown) extend through suitableholes 80 in the boiler cover plate 46 and are threaded into these holesfor supporting the spreader plate from the boiler cover.

The boiler cover is thin and consequently conducts very little heat fromthe sole plate to the supporting posts 76. These posts are rather small,and the spreader plate also is thin. Accordingly, the conduction of heatto the spreader plate is poor so that the water keeps the plate cool.Consequently there is substantially no evaporation or steam generationthere, and no lime deposits are formed on the spreader plate. The waterdropping on to the spreader plate will flow from the central portion 68through any one or more of the valleys 74 depending on the movement ofthe iron. The water generally will drop on to the floor of the steamgenerating chamber from the valleys several drops at a time. The exactposition of the water drops impinging on the floor of the steamgenerating chamber will vary in accordance with the speed and rapidityof change in direction of the iron. Consequently, lime deposits on thefloor of the steam generating chamber will be spread out more or less atrandom and therefore uniformly, and the iron will be capable ofgenerating steam efiiciently for a much longer period of time.

A modification of the spreader plate is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The ironin these two figures remains identical with the one previouslydisclosed, and the spreader plate is similar to that previouslydisclose-d, with the exception of the means for mounting the spreaderplate on the iron. To avoid prolixity of description, similar numeralsare used in these two figures to identify parts similar to thosepreviously described, the suffix a being applied for purposes ofdistinction.

The configuration of the spreader plate in Figs. 6 and 7, generallyidentified by the numeral 66a, is similar to that previously describedincluding the upwardly convex central section 68a, the substantiallyflat ribs 70a terminating in upstanding tips 721:, and the valleys 74aintermediate the ridges. The structural modification is found in a pairof supports 82 curving downwardly from the upstanding tips 72a of thediametrically opposite upstanding ridge tips 72a. These supports are ofthe same thin sheet metal as the remainder of the spreader and 'rest onthe longitudinal rib 62a to which they are secured by means such asscrews 84. These supports 82, although resting on the rib 62a, aresufiiciently small and transfer so little heat to the spreader platethat the spreader plate still remains sufficiently cool to serve itspurpose of spreading water about the steam generating chamber withoutthe formation of lime deposits on the spreader plate.

In the event that the boiler or steam generating chamber should becomeflooded, the compartmentation afforded by the ribs reduces the tendencyof the water to splash around in the steam generating chamber and intothe steam ducts. The ribs are of heavy section so as to provide goodheat conduction. This, coupled with the fact that the ribs provide alarger heating area for water flooding the boiler or steam generatingchamber, helps bring the heat to the water quickly for efficientevaporation of the water and purging of the iron. These factors alsoreduce the temperature difference between water flooding the boiler andthe heating element for reducing the danger of excessive temperatures atthe parts of the sole plate nearest the heating element, andsubstantially eliminating any possibility of the thermostat openingwhile there is still water in the boiler.

It will be observed that the ribs dividing the boiler into compartmentsare substantially lower than the inlet passageways 58 to thedistributing pockets 50. Consequently, if one of the compartments of theboiler or steam generating chamber should flood, water from thiscompartment would spill into the other compartments rather than into thesteam outlet ducts. Furthermore, the ribs serve to strengthen and bracethe sole plate against warping or buckling if it should be over-heated,or if a. severe temperature gradient were to be established by theintroduction of a large quantity of cold water into the steam generatingcompartment while it is hot.

As previously noted, the low temperature at which the spreader ismaintained by its mounting, and also by the dropping of relatively coolwater thereon, prevents the depositing of lime on the spreader plate.The even distribution of the water impingement against the floor of thesteam generating chamber is occasioned by the spreader plate and themovement of the iron effects a relatively even distribution of the limeformation over a large area, so that the iron can be retained in servicewithout cleaning longer than is-possible with previous irons.

The particular disposition of the ribs, with the two ribs 64 diagonal,allows the steam generating chamber to be divided into compartments ofsubstantially equal size while having the water inlet located at aconvenient position. The alignment of the ridges of the spreader withthe ribs assures depositing of the water on the floor of the steamgenerating chamber.

The specific examples of the iron as herein shown and described will beunderstood as being by way of illustration only. Other and furtherstructural modifications doubtless will occur to those skilled in theart, and it is to be understood that such modifications form a part ofthis invention insofar as they fall within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A steam iron comprising a sole plate, means associated with saidsole; plate forming a steam generating chamber having a floor on whichwater impinges for steam generation, means for heating said steamgeneratin'g chamber and said sole plate, means providing steam ventmeans from said-steam generating chamber to the bottom surface of saidsole plate, a water reservoir, means providing a water passage from saidreservoir to said steam generating chamber, a spreader substantiallysmaller than said steam generating chamber and disposed above said floorand having a high portion substantially directly beneath said waterpassage and a plurality of ridges radiating outwardly therefrom andseparated by valleys sloping downwardly away from said high portion, andmeans for supporting said spreader with said high portion substantiallydirectly beneath said water passage for distributing water through saidvalleys over a large area of said steam generating floor to precludeconcentrated lime formation.

2. A water spreader for a steam iron comprising substantially a disc ofsheet material having a high central portion with a plurality of ridgesradiating outwardly therefrom substantially on a level with said centralhigh portion, and valleys interposed between adjacent ridges and slopingdownwardly and outwardly from said central high portion.

3. A steam iron comprising a sole plate, means associated: with saidsole plateforming a steam generating chamber having a floor on whichwater impinges for steam generation, means for heating said steamgenerating chamber and said sole plate, means providing steam vent meansfrom said chamber to the bottom surface of said sole plate, a Waterreservoir, means providing a water passage from said reservoir to saidsteam generating chamber, a plurality of partitions upstanding from thefloor of said steam generating chamber to divide said chamber into aplurality of compartments, said partitions being of lesser height thansaid steam generating chamber whereby all of said compartments areconnected at the top thereof, and means positioned to receive water fromsaid water passage and providing separate flow paths for water to eachcompartment.

4. A steam iron as set forth in claim 3 wherein the means providing theseparate flow paths comprises a spreader positioned above the partitionsand overlying portions of all of the compartments whereby to directwater into all of said compartments.

5. A steam iron as set forth in claim 3 wherein entrances are providedto said steam vents at a higher position from said floor than the stopsof said partitions whereby flooding of one of said compartments willeifect passage over a partition to an adjacent compartment rather thaninto a steam vent.

6. A steam iron as set forth in claim 3 wherein the partitions comprisea substantially central longitudinal partition, and a pair of partitionsbranching diagonally outwardly therefrom.

7. A steam iron comprising a sole plate, means associated with said soleplate forming a steam generating chamber on which water impinges forsteam generation, said chamber being provided with a top, means forheating said steam generating chamber and said sole plate, meansproviding steam vent means from said steam generating chamber to thebottom surface of said sole plate, a water reservoir, means providing awater passage from said reservoir to said steam generating chamber, aspreader, and means depending from the top of said steam generatingchamber for supporting said spreader in said steam generating chamberbeneath said water passage for distributing water from said passage overa large area of said steam generating chamber floor to avoidconcentrated lime formation, said spreader being in poor thermal contactwith said heating means, sole plate, and steam generating chamber.

8. A steam iron comprising a sole plate, means associated with said soleplate forming a steam generating chamber on which water impinges forsteam generation, said chamber being provided with a top, means forheating said steam generating chamber and said sole plate, meansproviding steam vent means from saidsteam generating chamber to thebottom surface of said sole plate, a water reservoir, means providing awater passage from said reservoir to said steam generating chamber, aspreader, and means depending from the top of said steam generatingchamber for supporting said spreader in said steam generating chamberbeneath said water passage for distributing water from said passage overa large area of said steam generating chamber floor to avoidconcentrated lime formation, said spreader being in poor thermal contactwith said heating means, sole plate, and steam generating chamber andbeing provided with a high portion substantially directly beneath thewater passage and slopes downwardly in a plurality of directionstherefrom.

9. A steam iron comprising a sole plate, means associated with said soleplate forming a steam generating chamber having a floor on which waterimpinges for steam generation, said steam generating chamber furtherhaving a top, a plurality of ribs on said floor for dividing said steamgenerating chamber into a plurality of compartments, said ribs being oflesser height than said steam generating chamber whereby saidcompartments connect above said ribs, means providing steam vent meansfrom said compartments to the bottom surface of said sole plate, a waterreservoir, means providing a water passage from said reservoir to saidsteam generating chamber, a spreader, and means depending from saidchamber top for supporting said spreader in said steam generatingchamber.

10. A steam iron as set forth in claim 9 wherein the spreader has a highportion positioned substantially directly beneath said water passage forreceiving water therefrom, a plurality of ridges overlying the ribs insaid steam generating chamber, and a plurality of valleys lying betweensaid ribs and sloping downwardly away from said high portion fordistributing water substantially uniformly into said compartments.

11. A steam iron comprising a sole plate, means associated with saidsole plate forming a steam generating chamber and having a floor onwhich water impinges for steam generation, means providing steam ventmeans from said steam generating chamber to the bottom surface of saidsole plate, a water reservoir, means providing a water passage from saidreservoir to said steam generat ing chamber, a spreader positionedbeneath said water passage and having less area than said floor, andsupports extending from said spreader and supporting said spreader insaid steam generating chamber with said spreader disposed above saidfloor and free from contact therewith whereby said spreader ismaintained at a lower temperature than the floor of said steamgenerating chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,353,604 Waring et al. July 11, 1944 2,588,747 Morton Mar. 11, 19522,637,126 Fitzsimmons May 5, 1953 2,652,645 Youhouse Sept. 22, 1953

